"Today's failure to reach a decision to reform the EU's biofuels policy is bad news for poor people and for the environment as food will continue to be diverted from stomachs into fuel tanks.

"The UK government should have done more to secure the ambitious deal the Prime Minister said he wanted. The government now needs to work hard alongside other countries to ensure an agreement is reached soon which drives down the use of food-based biofuels."

In October last year, the European Commission proposed amending the EU's Renewable Energy Directive by introducing a 5% limit for counting food crop-based biofuels towards the 10% target for renewable energy in transport fuels by 2020, improving sustainability criteria and promoting the use of advanced biofuels. In September, the European Parliament voted for a 6% cap. A final deal between the European Parliament and EU Member States must be struck in the coming months. With the lack of agreement by EU governments today, the decision-making process gets delayed. Another opportunity
to amend the EU's current biofuels policy will wait until after the European Parliament elections in May and the Italian EU Presidency which will kick off in July.